Development of a large-area 3He tube array neutron detector with frequency reduction capability

doi:10.1088/1674-1056/adfefd

Abstract The time-of-flight high-resolution neutron diffractometer (TREND) at the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) has been successfully equipped with a large-area ³He tube array neutron detector, designed to achieve exceptional resolution and uniformity. The detector system, comprising 14 banks and 134 modules with 1376 ³He tubes, is optimized for highangle and medium-to-low-angle measurements. Advanced dual-end readout electronics ensure precise charge and timeof-flight measurements, while rigorous performance testing confirmed the system’s spatial resolution and uniformity. In situ testing using polyethylene samples validated the detector’s operational stability, with counting rate deviations within 3.7%. The system also demonstrated excellent two-dimensional imaging capabilities and adaptability to various neutron wavelength ranges through harmonic division techniques. These results highlight the TREND detector system as a robust and versatile tool for high-resolution neutron diffraction studies.

Keywords: ³He tube detector time-of-flight spatial resolution neutron diffractometer

Received: 25 June 2025
Revised: 13 August 2025
Accepted manuscript online: 26 August 2025

PACS:	61.05.F
	28.20.Cz	(Neutron scattering)
	29.40.Gx	(Tracking and position-sensitive detectors)
	28.20.Pr	(Neutron imaging; neutron tomography)

Fund: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China through the Young Fund Project titled “Research on Polarized Neutron Detector System” (Project Approval No. 12205326). Additional support was provided by the Guangdong Major Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research (Grant No. 2023B0303000003) and the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Particle Detection Technology (Grant No. 2024B1212010005).

Corresponding Authors: Jian-Rong Zhou, Zhi-Jia Sun
E-mail: zhoujr@ihep.ac.cn;sunzj@ihep.ac.cn

Cite this article:

Yan-Feng Wang(王艳凤), Li-Xin Zeng(曾莉欣), Liang Xiao(肖亮), Sheng Guo(郭胜), Jing-Jing Ma(马静静), Zhen-Hong Tan(谭振宏), Wu Xie(谢武), Wen-Hai Ji(季文海), Ping Miao(缪平), Hai-Yun Teng(滕海云), Pei-Xun Shen(沈培迅), Qing-Lei Xiu(修青磊), Xing-Feng Jiang(蒋兴奋), Hong Xu(许虹), Xiao-Juan Zhou(周晓娟), Meng-Qi Jiang(蒋孟奇), Lin Zhu(朱林), Lei Hu(胡磊), Jia-Jie Li(李嘉杰), Yong-Xiang Qiu(邱勇翔), Jian Zhuang(庄建), Yu-Bin Zhao(赵豫斌), Yuan-Bo Chen(陈元柏), Jian-Rong Zhou(周健荣), and Zhi-Jia Sun(孙志嘉) Development of a large-area ³He tube array neutron detector with frequency reduction capability 2025 Chin. Phys. B 34 116102

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Development of a large-area 3He tube array neutron detector with frequency reduction capability

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Development of a large-area ³He tube array neutron detector with frequency reduction capability